Donald Trump sparks major backlash over post of him golfing over the weekend as people make worrying point
How does Donald Trump celebrating enforcing a vast plethora of global tariffs, many of which will see American citizens forcing over vast sums of taxes and suffering major financial blows?
By going golfing, of course!
The 78-year-old US president was seen taking a break from the hustle and bustle of the White House over the weekend, and enjoying a leisurely Sunday in Mar-a-Lago, Florida.
In a video shared to Trump's 'Truth Social' X account, the Republican leader was filmed relishing in a few rounds of golf with friends.
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The controversial clip comes less than a week after Trump made the biggest change to trade in an entire century, by formally announcing the reciprocal tariffs he's set to impose on a number of nations across the globe in the coming days and weeks.
"We've been waiting for a long time, April 2, 2025, will forever be remembered as the day American industry was reborn, the day America's destiny was reclaimed, and the day that we began to 'Make America Wealthy Again,'" he proudly claimed in his speech on Thursday (3 Apr).
A baseline 10 per cent tariff came into play two days later, and has been since applied universally to imports from all countries, except Canada and Mexico. Meanwhile, 60 countries with 'unfair trade practices' will now face a 'reciprocal' duty of up to 50 percent from April 9.
As well as having international repercussions, however, the fact that it is the importers buying the goods who pay the tariffs means that many American companies will be paying the increased taxes.
This can also result in US-based customers paying higher costs for their goods - as companies often put up their prices in order to compensate for tariffs - and suffering a stream of subsequent major blows to their personal finances.
Such has been the point raised by a number of Americans, who've been left outraged by Trump's latest golf outing.
"Busy golfing while US is slipping into recession?" one commented on the president's latest social media upload.
Another jibed: "At least he's out there working for us so much he doesn't have time to play golf... Oh - that was what he said his first term and didn't happen then.
"Now he just spends millions of our tax dollars to play golf with no regrets."
A third noted: "Trump golfed while America burned"
"This guy is playing golf while my port is bleeding how great," another wrote.
A fifth continued: "America in free fall ,Economy , contacts with the free world, His love for Communism. A DISASTER !! This old lunatic plays Golf !!!! ????"
"The market lost 9 billion $ within last week... Mr president is playing golf," another wrote.
"The savings of the American middle class are disappearing while he plays golf with the Saudis," penned another. "You can tell how very pleased he is with what he's done."
An eighth critic slammed: "Glad you can golf and I had to come out of retirement because my 401k is literally destroyed!"
Another hit out: "Disappoint you Mr. Trump. You have crashed all the markets and a lot of savings that just us normal every day people have.
"I had your back and thought good things of you but now you’ve taken the tariffs too far. Stop punishing us every day people."
Likely adding to their woes is the fact that - as one critic pointed out - Trump's golfing day trips are often organised at the expense of US taxpayers.
According to a 2019 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), that crunched the numbers on golf four trips Trump took to Mar-a-Lago during his first term, it cost $13.6 million. This equates to around $3.4m per session.
The Guardian allege that this total includes flying Air Force One between Washington and Palm Beach International Airport, and a separate cargo plane to carry the presidential motorcade.
And when it comes to his current term, Trump has already been on seven golfing holidays so far, meaning the US government is thought to have splashed out more than $23m on his hobby.
Rhianna Benson